Falcons score on every one of their first six possessions on way to 30-17 romp.

PHILADELPHIA — — Todd Bowles' first game as defensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles turned out to be a catastrophe in which the lopsided result on the scoreboard couldn't even begin to tell the tale.

The visiting Atlanta Falcons scored on each of their first six possessions on their way to a 30-17 triumph that ended in an empty venue in which boos from the second and third quarters were still echoing throughout Lincoln Financial Field.

Although the Eagles (3-4) did not turn the ball over for only the second time this season, they allowed the Falcons (7-0) to march up and down the field at will with an attack that exposed all of their holes and created a bunch of new ones.

The Falcons were stifled only on their final three fourth-quarter possessions, but only after the game was out of reach and they were more interested in the running the clock.

Quarterback Matt Ryan completed 22 of 29 passes for 262 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. He was nearly perfect despite little help from a running game that produced just 58 yards on 24 attempts for workhorse back Michael Turner.

Although the Falcons finished with a respectable 146 yards on the ground (on 37 attempts), the number was skewed by a 43-yarder that Jacquizz Rodgers broke off in the third quarter, with the Falcons driving for their final score, a 30-yard field goal by Matt Bryant that made it 30-10 on the first play of the fourth quarter.

For the most part, despite the wind and rain produced by nearby Hurricane Sandy, Ryan operated with a comfort level similar to what he gets at home, in an indoor facility.

"We had the same stuff in place that we've always had with a weather game like that," Bowles said. "In mud, there's not much you can do right there. We didn't make the plays we needed to make."

The irony is that Bowles was promoted less than two weeks earlier to replace Juan Castillo, who was dismissed only because his defense faltered down the stretch of the last three games — after being extremely solid through the first three quarters and overall. So a defense that was giving up an average of only 18.5 points per game already had surrendered more than that by halftime.

Bowles doesn't believe the change at the top had anything to do with the players adjusting to a new voice.

"We ran the same things," he said. "The guys have to play nevertheless. The coaches have got to coach. We didn't coach it good, we didn't play it good."

The Eagles didn't play it "good," in fact, they played it worse than they ever did in the 22 previous games Castillo was in charge.

"Listen, how can I stand up here and tell you [the change of coordinators] didn't [affect] the way we played? I can't tell you that other than we've got to play better," head coach Andy Reid said. "So call the right plays and then execute the plays. It comes down to that. It's that simple. Talking about it isn't going to get it done. We've got to do it. We didn't do it today."

In the meantime, the Eagles also received little help from quarterback Michael Vick, who was once again under siege due to faulty protection, and receivers who were unable to get open beyond 10 yards from the line of scrimmage.

Vick (21 for 35, 191 yards, one TD, no interceptions, no fumbles) protected the ball perfectly, though Falcons linebacker Stephen Nicholas dropped what was certain to be a pick-six in the third quarter, right after Bryant kicked a 29-yard field goal to give his team a 27-10 lead. No matter. The Eagles wound up punting three plays later, with 5:10 remaining, but didn't see the ball again until Atlanta had set the final score in the fourth.

That's how dominant Atlanta's offense was after opening the game with a 16-play march to the end zone that took nearly nine minutes off the clock and never being seriously threatened.

Held without a first down in the first quarter and just 94 yards in the first half, the Eagles (3-4) lost for the first time coming off a bye week under Reid.

"We felt like we prepared ourselves very well this week and really took a good hard look at us," Falcons coach Mike Smith said. "Not necessarily worrying about game planning on Monday when we came back in here. It was Falcons-on-Falcons, and we worked our tails off and I think we got some things corrected that we needed to."

The Eagles had the same strategy this past week, only without working their tails off on Monday. Reid cut the players loose after just 30 minutes or so of practice.

Ryan, who nearly had his first pass intercepted, completed his next 14, including a 15-yard touchdown to Drew Davis, 3-yard touchdown to Jason Snelling and a 63-yard scoring bomb down the right sideline to Julio Jones, who easily beat cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha by two steps.

Asomugha, 31, was left alone on that play by design, according to Bowles.

The Eagles went three-and-out on their only offensive series in the first quarter, finishing with negative-3 yards of offense.